Tuesday, April 10, 2012

For
whatever reason, I have avoided cooking with eggplant for the most part lately.

But
then, I discovered a new reason to enjoy eggplant. I was perusing my own
cookbook library when I found a recipe for Patlıcanlı Iç Pilav (Turkish Aubergine Rice) that sounded
interesting.

In
"Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen" by Angie
Mitchell, she describes this as one of 40 special eggplant dishes from the
Ottoman palace kitchens. Apparently, the sultans couldn't get enough of this
vegetable originating from southeast Asia.

With
the Turks fondness for patlıcan,
I thought there would be at least 100 different recipes. And maybe there are
because every dish is up to the cook's own interpretation as well.

The
cinnamon, allspice, dried currants and fresh herbs make for a flavorful and
interesting dish. There's a pinch of sugar that makes the dish slightly sweet
too. I paired the pilaf with a batch of traditional Turkish köfte thanks
to Claudia's recipe at A Seasonal Cook in Turkey.

If
you're bored with plain white rice for dinner, then you must try this
Ottoman-style pilaf.

What's
your favorite way to cook with aubergine, eggplant or patlıcan?

In
a medium-sized bowl, soak the rice and currants in hot salted water for 30
minutes. Then, rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile,
peel the eggplant in alternate vertical stripes from the stem to the base. Cut
off the stalk. Submerge and soak the eggplant in salted water for 30 minutes,
drain and squeeze dry. (This step helps to remove the bitterness
from the eggplant). Cut into small cubes about 1/2-inch wide.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy
saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the eggplant, with a pinch of salt
and sugar, until they are softened. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon,
and set aside on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.

In
the same pan, sauté the pine nuts and the onion with the remaining olive oil,
until the pine nuts are golden and the onion has softened. Add the drained rice
and currants, stirring to ensure the grains are evenly coated. Add the salt,
sugar, spices, tomato and 2 cups of hot water.

Bring
the rice to a boil, stirring once and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat
about 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Do not stir! Turn down the
heat to lowest setting and cook for 3-5 more minutes.

Remove
the saucepan from the heat. Add the eggplant and cover the top of the pan with
a kitchen towel or paper towels and replace the lid. The rice will continue cooking
in the steam and the towels will help absorb any extra moisture.

Let
stand, covered, for 20 minutes before serving. Then, season the pilaf with salt
and pepper; add the chopped herbs and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
Fluff the rice with a fork.

@Lizna Liisu, thank you! I also love Turkish Karnıyarık and have made it a couple times for us. Yum! In January, we stopped at a restaurant in Sultanahmet that served Hünkar Beğendi with melt-in-your-mouth lamb.

I love aubergine pilaf! Since I have some at home I should make them again. I love all manners of aubergine prepared by the Turks. Can't get enough of it. Our friend's mother make some very mean eggplant dishes. Oh I miss her cooking already.

Joycuğum, the presentation of Karnıyarık is beautiful, I bet it tasted as well as it looks! Also, you said you have yet to see eggplant as dessert, well, we also make Eggplant Jam! :D çok güzel bir blog ve çok güzel tarifler, bunları okumak çok güzel ve eğlenceli. :)